Don't let a few rotten apples spoil DuPont

Published: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 2:54 p.m.

One reason DuPont State Recreational Forest has become a model of shared multiple use is the fact that the N.C. Forest Service has eschewed overly restrictive regulations, allowing visitors freedom and user groups and volunteers a large say in how the forest is managed. The agency should continue to follow that philosophy as it grapples with problems that have been occurring in the forest at night.

Forest Supervisor Jason Guidry says rangers have dealt with large groups drinking, partying and littering at Fawn Lake and Hooker Falls after dark, along with sporadic vandalism, drug use and other problems. In October, he suggested to the DuPont State Forest Advisory Committee the idea of closing the forest at night.

Guidry proposed establishing operating hours with signs excluding all but “authorized visitors” from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise. That, he suggested, could deter illegal activity while still accommodating legitimate nighttime users through special-use permits.

DuPont, a 10,400-acre forest straddling the Henderson/Transylvania county line, is currently the only state forest in North Carolina without posted operating hours, although state rules require all forests to post hours of operation.

The proposal has divided longtime forest advocates. Aleen Steinberg, a member of the committee and leader in the 1999/2000 effort to save the forest’s waterfalls from development, supports Guidry’s proposal. She says legitimate nighttime users, such as hikers, mountain bikers or people viewing the forest’s famous blue ghost fireflies, won’t be barred under the proposed permits.

Woody Keen, who like Steinberg worked to save the waterfalls, is concerned that a permit system would inconvenience casual users while adding to administrators’ workload. He is among mountain bikers who enjoy riding the forest’s famous trails by moonlight. “I want a scenario where people can make a spur-of-the-moment decision to go based on conditions that evening,” he said.

Also weighing in against nighttime closure of the forest is advisory committee member R.R. Hebb, a retired wildlife officer. Restricting hours at DuPont runs counter to the principles of open public access under which the state’s first recreational forest was founded, Hebb said.

Hebb is right when he says rangers, along with sheriff’s deputies, game wardens and other law officers, should vigorously enforce existing rules to expel and arrest lawbreakers before instituting new rules. Putting up signs won’t deter illegal behavior nearly as well as making arrests.

If the forest institutes a permit for nighttime users, it should be free and open to residents of the two counties as suggested by Page Lemel, a Transylvania County commissioner who sits on the advisory committee. “That way they’re able to distinguish who they’re dealing with (at night), and it would provide rangers with knowledge about who’s in the forest then,” she says.

Forest users are open to reasonable rules to protect resources. At the same time, the many folks who love to hike, bike, ride horses and marvel in nature at DuPont should continue to have the opportunity to do so after the sun sets.

<p>One reason DuPont State Recreational Forest has become a model of shared multiple use is the fact that the N.C. Forest Service has eschewed overly restrictive regulations, allowing visitors freedom and user groups and volunteers a large say in how the forest is managed. The agency should continue to follow that philosophy as it grapples with problems that have been occurring in the forest at night.</p><p>Forest Supervisor Jason Guidry says rangers have dealt with large groups drinking, partying and littering at Fawn Lake and Hooker Falls after dark, along with sporadic vandalism, drug use and other problems. In October, he suggested to the DuPont State Forest Advisory Committee the idea of closing the forest at night.</p><p>Guidry proposed establishing operating hours with signs excluding all but authorized visitors from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise. That, he suggested, could deter illegal activity while still accommodating legitimate nighttime users through special-use permits.</p><p>DuPont, a 10,400-acre forest straddling the Henderson/Transylvania county line, is currently the only state forest in North Carolina without posted operating hours, although state rules require all forests to post hours of operation.</p><p>The proposal has divided longtime forest advocates. Aleen Steinberg, a member of the committee and leader in the 1999/2000 effort to save the forest’s waterfalls from development, supports Guidry’s proposal. She says legitimate nighttime users, such as hikers, mountain bikers or people viewing the forest’s famous blue ghost fireflies, won’t be barred under the proposed permits.</p><p>Woody Keen, who like Steinberg worked to save the waterfalls, is concerned that a permit system would inconvenience casual users while adding to administrators’ workload. He is among mountain bikers who enjoy riding the forest’s famous trails by moonlight. I want a scenario where people can make a spur-of-the-moment decision to go based on conditions that evening, he said.</p><p>Also weighing in against nighttime closure of the forest is advisory committee member R.R. Hebb, a retired wildlife officer. Restricting hours at DuPont runs counter to the principles of open public access under which the state’s first recreational forest was founded, Hebb said.</p><p>Hebb is right when he says rangers, along with sheriff’s deputies, game wardens and other law officers, should vigorously enforce existing rules to expel and arrest lawbreakers before instituting new rules. Putting up signs won’t deter illegal behavior nearly as well as making arrests.</p><p>If the forest institutes a permit for nighttime users, it should be free and open to residents of the two counties as suggested by Page Lemel, a Transylvania County commissioner who sits on the advisory committee. That way they’re able to distinguish who they’re dealing with (at night), and it would provide rangers with knowledge about who’s in the forest then, she says.</p><p>Forest users are open to reasonable rules to protect resources. At the same time, the many folks who love to hike, bike, ride horses and marvel in nature at DuPont should continue to have the opportunity to do so after the sun sets.</p>